Chapter 119
"HAHAHAHAHA!! So this is what it means to be unable to stop laughing!!"
Look over there - spirit stones. Look over here - more spirit stones.
Most are only Class 1 to 3, so their ranks are low, but they make up for it in variety and quantity. With spirit stones of all earth, water, fire and wind attributes gathered together, it's as beautiful as a jewel box and I can't help but smile.
"Liberta! We're done over here too!""Ah, good work Amina!"
After all that's happened, thanks to gathering so many different spirits, we've managed to collect spirit stones of all attributes at once. With this many, we can make a considerable number of attribute weapons. The mining and sorting work with all our companions was tough, but I'd say it was fulfilling.
We're seeing results proportional to the time we put in.
"You've really helped us out. This will make transporting our kin much easier."
Once this is done, all that's left is to descend the mountain.
"This was a profitable deal for us too, so we're grateful."
We ended up staying about three days, continuously mining spirit stones under the pretense of "cleaning the spirit corridors," and as you can see, we've obtained a mountain of spirit stones.
I call out to the stalwart Great Wind Spirit who arranged this for us and bow my head in thanks. This gratitude has two meanings.
First is simply that we've obtained a massive quantity of spirit stones. They're sorted by class and attribute - the rarer they are, the fewer we could gather, but we still ended up with several small mountains of them.
"Humans truly desire such troublesome things. Honestly, I can't understand your kind's thinking.""What's useful to us is unnecessary to spirits, after all.""Indeed. Ah, my apologies for interrupting your work. You can continue while we talk.""Oh? Well then, I'll take you up on that offer."
I can't even imagine how much this would sell for if we took it all back to the royal capital. But thinking ahead, I still feel like this won't be enough - such is the gamer's nature.
Taking the Great Wind Spirit at his word, I organize the spirit stones, but there's no way we could carry all of these back.
The second reason for gratitude is that with this quantity, even struggling with just one magic bag wouldn't be enough for us, so their proposal is a huge help.
"Still, are you sure about this? Having them transported all the way to town? Don't you hate coming down to human settlements?""Not to worry. If it's just sneaking them in, we can manage."
The Great Spirits have offered to handle the transportation. The Great Wind Spirit smiles and nods confidently.
Having a Great Spirit descend on the royal capital would probably cause quite a stir, but if they say they can stay hidden, I'll trust them.
In the game's setting, spirits dislike going where humans can see them, but I guess they'll make exceptions when there's business to handle.
For our part, if the spirit stones can be transported discreetly, that's perfect.
"Speaking of which, Liberta, changing the subject...""Yes?""Where do you plan to go after this?""Where? Well, first we'll descend to Norridge town, then return to the royal capital. Are you checking when we'll come back next?"
While appraising the spirit stones - the Class 3 ones and the few Class 4 we managed to obtain - I carefully pack these into the magic bag to carry personally when an unexpected question comes.
I pause my sorting and turn to face him.
"No, that's not it. We live for lengths of time incomparable to humans. We can wait patiently. My concern is about something else."
I'd thought he might be considering when we'd play together next, but the Great Wind Spirit laughs and denies this, saying he'll be happy if we just come back sometime.
"Something else?""Yes. Recently there's been talk among the spirits. You know the large granary region to the east? We've heard disturbing rumors about that area. I haven't seen it myself, but the Earth one says he has bad premonitions. If your business takes you that way, I was hoping you might investigate. Someone like you might understand what's happening there."
A request from a Great Spirit - completely unexpected. And what precise timing.
"Understand? Actually, I already know about that region's situation.""What? Truly?!""Yes, I know the source of those bad premonitions. So it's become a rumor among spirits too?""Indeed. We spirits dwell in lands we favor, so we're more sensitive than any to changes there. So, what is the cause of this disturbance?""Well..."
The bad premonitions about the eastern granary region, rumored not just by the Great Spirit but among spirits in general. The cause is...
"The source is the precursor to General Locust's appearance.""...What did you say?""General Locust. A periodic pest that appears and devours entire granaries root and stem. A real nasty one."
A monster called General Locust that gathers massive swarms of locusts into an army.
To be precise, its proper name is Hopping Soldier. Just because the name was hard to read, we players nicknamed it General Locust or Locust Warrior.
These insect-type monsters based on grasshoppers and locusts appear en masse around autumn - seasonal limited-time monsters.
In FBO, they're practically an autumn tradition, so iconic that some players say they've seen them more than their own parents' faces.
"But they give great EXP, and their drops are quite valuable too. I was actually thinking of hunting them soon, so I can handle it while I'm there."
That they appear periodically means it's a popular event among players.
"So this is serendipitous?""Exactly. If the spirits are troubled, I can't just ignore it anyway."
What makes them particularly popular is that the rewards from defeating them are highly versatile - so much so that players send passionate messages begging the developers to hold the event regularly.
I won't deny there's some self-interest in earning the Great Spirit's favor too.
"If that land is ruined and spirits abandon it, famine is inevitable. Starvation must be prevented at all costs.""Indeed, fields that lose spirits' blessings meet tragic fates. Though spirits rarely abandon their lands, nothing is absolute. Neither spirits nor humans remain in dangerous places."
In one scenario or warning, if you're badly defeated in the event, the Locust Warriors will completely devour the land, triggering an event where spirits abandon it.
This leads to bad harvest events where food item drop rates plummet, ingredient-selling NPCs close shop, creating a vicious cycle.
"I understand. So we'll devote our full efforts to dealing with it.""I can trust your word on this. I leave it in your hands."
In the game it would just be headache-inducing, but in reality it would be fatal. That's why, to avoid threatening our livelihoods, we'll approach this event with complete seriousness - no lies or pretenses.
The event involves protecting granary regions from swarms of insect-type monsters attacking wheat fields right before harvest.
"Leave it to me. Not that I'm just being altruistic - I have my own reasons for dealing with them too.""Ah yes, you mentioned that. I'm not sure whether to be impressed or concerned that you can have ulterior motives against calamity-bringing monsters.""Honesty is important.""In your case, there's honesty but also clearly other motives mixed in that I must keep in mind.""No argument there."
The enemies are bipedal insect warriors, but what makes them troublesome is their leaping and charging attacks from those legs.
"I'm still developing, so I really want the skill scrolls they drop."
First, their unique skill scrolls are incredibly valuable. One is Charge - a straightforward skill that's essentially an inferior version of Claudia's Lightning Step.
It increases speed when moving straight ahead and creates attack判定 in front - good synergy with my spear skills, but that's not what I want.
What I really want is Air Step - a godly skill that starts as a double jump but at higher levels lets you dash through the air up to ten times.
Having three-dimensional movement options in battle is far superior to just two-dimensional.
"That shouldn't be a problem. Harvest season is still some time away, and with this many spirit stones, wind-attributed weapons will handle things fine. We've also gathered plenty of marsh dragon materials for earth-resistant armor, so taking down the General is within reach."
That such a useful skill drops not from the event boss but from common Locust Warriors is almost too good.
With their numbers, each kill gives another chance for the scroll drop. During this event, players practically channel Satsuma samurai, beheading Locust Warriors while muttering "Leave the scrolls behind" as they slaughter them.
Another valuable drop is Flying Insect Wings - their drop rate is among the highest of any insect-type monster.
These can be easily synthesized into consumable wind-attribute magic items.
For example, combining them with Class 1 wind spirit stones creates Wind Edge magic items.
Though consumable, they're recast-free, mana-free, spammable magic with surprisingly good utility. With enough, you could even hunt Class 4 bosses by spamming them at earth-attribute weak enemies.
Combine Class 2 spirit stones with town soil and the wings to make limited-use return items.
There's also Messenger Bells - paired items where ringing one makes the other ring. Combined with Class 2 wind stones and the wings, they become consumable message items that transmit speech between paired feathers.
Mass-producing these would create extremely convenient items, almost essential for dungeon exploration.
"Still, better safe than sorry.""Thank you for the advice.""No matter. Humans who clean spirit corridors are rare, and I dislike leaving our game unresolved. I'll practice too, so return soon for a rematch."
Though I thought the event would trigger around autumn, with the spirits' confirmation it's definitely happening. Once back in the capital, I'll need to immediately prepare to head east.
"We'll leave the battledore and ball here. What about the court?""We'll manage that too. Our brethren seem eager to play more. Next time, you may find no spirit you can defeat!""That sounds fun. Being the challenger is more enjoyable.""Heh, I see that perspective has merit."
Either way, we'll need to descend first to regroup with Lotus and meet the Duke. As we talk, I finish packing spirit stones into the magic bag - perfect timing.
"Then farewell, human child Liberta. When next we meet, may you be worthy to give me a name.""That's Amina's role, not mine."
Spirits have no names. Thus, named spirits are those who've previously contracted with someone.
I feel somewhat guilty toward the Great Wind Spirit advertising his uncontracted status, but I've no intention of becoming a spirit caller.
Besides, contracting a Great Spirit first isn't optimal for growth.
"Hmm. But she seems interested in the lesser spirits."
As I shoulder the magic bag and stand, the Great Spirit's expression clearly shows he wants to join our group.
"No worries.""Oh?""We'll come back. To visit friends.""! I see. Friends. Yes, let's play again, my friend."
Personally, I'm happy about this encounter too, so I intend to return.
I make a fist and smile, thrusting it forward. The Great Wind Spirit momentarily looks puzzled but quickly understands, lightly bumping his fist against mine.
And so we promise to meet again.
This isn't just the game world. This isn't just a place to gather spirit stones.
It's a place that reminds me of this truth.